Data is the currency of the internet, and it is always in demand. While you might think that your site doesn't need lots of bandwidth because it...
Data is the currency of the internet,
and it is always in demand. While you might think that your site doesn't need lots of bandwidth because it is small, be careful. If your site ever becomes more popular, your site will go down from the strain. A good rule of thumb is to always expect to need more bandwidth from your web hosting company than you ever think you will need.
For most people, that means opting for an unlimited bandwidth plan.
Why Bandwidth Gets Used
If you think about it, what web hosting servers manage to pull off is quite amazing. At any given time they are expected to serve web pages to dozens of people who are all connected at once, asking for different files and different pieces of data. The strain is even greater on modern web 2.0 websites that have interactive elements, where they load content on the fly. At this point, anyone browsing a website is constantly asking for more data.
Every one of these connections is asking for information. And every time a website is downloaded, it takes a bit of time. It may only be a bit of the total data that can be transferred at any given moment, but it is still a little bit of it.
These small transfers build up, until either the machine or the cable carrying the information can't hold any more. That makes bandwidth inherently capped, a big deal for large server farms. Web hosting services will charge you for more bandwidth, because having higher bandwidth is more valuable.
Why Unlimited Data is Important
Even if your site is small, you might one day need the extra bandwidth. Say, for example, that you are a blogger. Your daily goal is to write compelling content that draws in readers. One of your posts takes off on Reddit and now you've got over one hundred thousand page views. That will probably exceed your web hosting server’s monthly data cap, which is bad if you're more than 15 minutes away from the beginning of the next data cycle.
If you want your site to stay up no matter the pressure it is under, you need to make sure that your web hosting provider is providing unlimited bandwidth.
Realistically, there is no such thing as unlimited bandwidth. The pipe will eventually run out. But having unlimited bandwidth in your contract means that your web hosting service provider will work to keep your site afloat, dedicating more and more of the pipe to your site as traffic increases.
Uptime Matters
Unlimited data matters because uptime matters. If your site goes under for maxing out its allocated bandwidth, then it's just as bad or possibly even worse than if your site goes under because your web hosting company goes down. It doesn't reflect well on you or your site, and you will probably lose all those visitors in an instant.
So when looking into a web hosting provider, look for one that provides unlimited data, both in and out, even if it’s just an option you can upgrade to the instant you need it.
